A Dream Between Both Worlds
by Vampiratelady
Summary: Gene finally fulfilled his final mission. But before that, something dreadful happened. (Gene/Mai and implied Naru/Mai. No smut and little romance but it's a story that might touch your heart.)
1. Chapter 1

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**Disclaimer**

Ghost Hunt belongs to Fuyumi Ono.

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**HOPE YOU ENJOY READING :)**

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GHOST HUNT SHORT STORY

A Dream Between Both Worlds

File 1

**Hospital**

**8:00 PM**

"Mai."

Someone was calling out to her, but the sound was an ephemeral echoe from somewhere distant. And yet, the voice, so achingly familiar still caught her attention and filled her with melancholia all of the sudden.

Slowly, Mai lifted her eyelids but rather than lying down, she found herself standing in front of a double-door. She looked around in what appeared to be a corridor of a hospital. There were a few nurses passing by, sometimes going in and out of the rooms. They didn't glance at her; they probably couldn't see her. She was having one of her psychic dreams again which sufficiently explained why everyone was oblivious to her presence.

But why is she in a hospital? Mai thought hard but she couldn't remember anything that happened in their previous case. In fact, she thought they solved it already. What happened? Her head throbbed painfully in a futile effort to regain some recollections.

"Mai."

Startled back from her thoughts, Mai whirled her head to the direction of the voice and breathed a sigh of relief. "Gene."

As always he remained silent, but the sadness in his eyes sent a painful throb to her heart. Why did she feel that way? It's as if something bad was about to happen.

In each and every case that they had investigated, Mai already learned what to expect from her dreams; she was either going to be murdered or something else but all in all, those dreams were always dreadful that she could never completely brace herself for what's about to happen. And this time, the feeling of fear was greater— much greater than before.

_To be continued_

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	2. Chapter 2

**FILE 2**

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Mai took a deep breath to dispel her fear a bit when the corridor turned noisy as the sound of wheels scraping the tiled floor reached her ears. Making sure that her heart was prepared, she carefully turned her head to the side but rather than a ghost, what she saw was a hospital bed being pushed by four people. The situation couldn't have been anymore clearer, she was seeing someone's memory.

She saw Gene walking from the corner of her eyes just as the room swirled and she found herself lying down on something soft and something was covering half of her face while the world was moving so fast around her. Still, the scraping sound persisted. She opened her eyes just as Gene passed by her line of vision and realized with shocking dismay that she was the one lying down on the hospital bed and the object covering her face was an oxygen mask.

She tried to move but her limbs hurt. They were entering a room and there were medical apparatus everywhere she looked. There's an operating table in the center flanked by several small tables with equipments while nurses began to move about.

"Okay, we'll start. Is everything ready?" The doctor adressed to them.

"Yes, doc."

"Give her the anesthesia."

_What's this? What's going on? I'm so scared._

"She's having a seizure!"

_Gene, Please, help me._

As if her will summoned the medium, Gene approached the bed and looked down at her with the gentlest expression on his face. Her heartbeat calmed down as the people around her stopped shouting.

_Gene, what am I doing here?_

The medium leaned down and gripped her hand. "Don't worry. It's not your time, yet."

_Not my time? _

Mai looked at him with confusion but before she could ask him to explain, her vision darkened once again.

_To be continued_

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AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Thank you for those who reviewed. As you've guessed, what Mai dreamed wasn't entirely a dream but she had an out of the body experience and it wasn't anyone's memories or experience but her own and you'll soon find out why on the next chapter.

R & R !


	3. Chapter 3

**File 3**

The air was heavy, tension collided with fear as the SPR group sat in a long bench inside the waiting room near the ICU. Their faces had bruises, Takigawa's arm was wrapped with bandages, but it seemed that they didn't notice at all or that they couldn't care less.

"How is it?" Ayako stood from her seat as soon as Lin came rushing inside.

"Both of them are in the operating room." He said before pausing in hesitation. "The doctors said they'll do everything that they can." Ayako's eyes watered while his darkened ever so slightly, it was a message enough for all the SPR members to know what he meant. All of them accepted the news without further question.

"Thank you, Lin." Masako said, breaking the silence.

The man nodded at her and remained standing. Then after a few heartbeats, he smiled softly at her. "She'll be fine."

The girl in the kimono showed a startled expression before she smiled at him. Her worry must have been crystal clear, a testament that Masako had grown unexpectedly fond of her rival over the course of time that they had spent with each other.

The room became quiet after that as Masako pondered heavily about what she had seen right before Mai fell from the rooftop of the school that they had been investigating, the expression on Naru's face was flitting but it wasn't like any of his expressions before.

Masako smiled sadly to herself, understanding what it was. She clenched her hands and ignored the pang in her heart as the visions kept playing past that telltale moment to the time when Naru used his qigong to brace Mai's fall to the ground. To stop an object (and a living one at that) in such an accelerated phase, he must have used a great deal of Pk and in the end he collapsed. They were brought to the hospital, Mai had a severe concussion on her head and a broken limb that required operation while Naru was being treated as well, although his case wasn't severe, his weak and unstable condition wasn't comforting enough.

"Lin, do you know who did it?" Masako stared unblinkingly at Lin. "It's true that she's clumsy but I know it's not an accident— someone pushed her but I didn't sense any spirit close by."

The rest of the group heard their conversation and was listening intently. Everyone had several expressions on their faces but surprise wasn't among it. Anger lit up in Takigawa's and Ayako's faces. John looked troubled while Yasuhara was expressionless. They must have already sensed that something was wrong.

"Yes, I know who did it." Lin looked at her and then at the rest of the group, changing the topic. "I'll be permanently cancelling the case since there's no need to continue it anymore."

"Why?" Takigawa said, his face serious and there was a knowing glint in his eyes. "We have the right to know why you're going to cancel it."

Lin drew out a deep sigh. "The case was a set up." Everyone's eyes widened except Takigawa who continued to stare at the Chinese man, his eyes narrowing into slits, hating the fact that Lin had their boss's habit of saying short sentences when they needed a long explanation.

"A set up? Why?"

"Yes. But that's all I can tell. The information is strictly confidential and Naru bade me to keep silent."

Takigawa remained unfazed at the dismissal, his eyes didn't waver from Lin's dark ones, in fact, the determination to get the truth from him made him more grimly serious than ever.

"It's about his brother, isn't it?" Takigawa said. Lin didn't say anything but it was enough_._

_..._

_To be continued_

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**AUTHOR's NOTE:**

Just to clarify things, Naru kept on searching for Gene's killer because she's the only one who has the key to make his spirit move on. Naru found the woman and the set up was her doing. That's all I'm going to explain. Further information can be classified as spoiler and the story about Gene's death is only a sidetrack. I'm not going to focus on it but on something else entirely.

Once again 'Read and Review' please.


	4. Chapter 4

**FILE 4**

"Mai."

Mai, who was completely in a daze, jolted in surpise as Gene called out to her once again. Recollections about what happened earlier flashed into her mind and upon realizing that she's in the middle of the corridor once again, a frown worked its way between her brows.

Confused, she shifted her gaze on door of the room where she was taken into. The light on top of it was now red, indicating that the operation started already.

So, she didn't really wake up, did she?

"Mai." Gene said, catching her attention.

"Gene.." She stared at him and then at the door. "What do you mean when you said that it's not my time yet?"

"You'll remember everything soon— come. We have to go." Gene took hold of her hand and pulled her before she could protest.

_He's more nervous than usual. Gene, what's going on?_

She stared at the back of his head, but Mai knew for a fact that prying him for answers wouldn't work. He wouldn't tell her everything, after all, he wanted her to depend on her intuition rather than his guidance. But as always, she didn't know how to react whenever they did something as intimate as holding hands. It wasn't at all necessary, but Mai didn't want to tell him that.

They passed several doors before Gene changed course and took the stairs. They went down until they reached the second floor of the building. The crowd was thicker there. Several people stood by, some were sitting down in a waiting area while the others passed by. The SPR group was gathered there too, which meant that Mai's in an astral trance, but before she could ponder on that fact, Gene stopped walking.

Mai halted beside him and raised her eyes to the rectangular label on the door.

ICU

The meaning of the letters instantly filled her with anxiety. Her heart beat accelerated and her neck prickled while the temperature around her abruptly dropped by several degrees.

"Wait." Mai tightened her arm.

"He's inside."

Mai raised her eyes to him and watched him stare at the doors so seriously and grimly as if he could already see what's happening at the other side. _He..?_

An image of Naru's face flashed swiftly through her mind. Mai closed her eyes, trying to control her fear. "He needs you." The medium whispered as if that short sentence was enough to encourage her. And Mai realized that, indeed, he was right. Naru's there. Just the thought of something bad happening to him made her almost frantic to see him.

With renewed courage, the auburn haired assistant reached for the knob and pushed. She instantly saw the nurse as he stood up from his seat before he ran to the nearby bed. The cardiac monitor suddenly rang. Its sound filling her with dread.

"Page Dr. Morita quickly!" The nurse said to the other nurse and reached for the defibrillator while Mai remained frozen on the spot.

_No._

_To be continued_

_**..**_

**AUTHOR's NOTE**

We're nearing the climax of the story. I'm getting excited too on what's about to happen. Oh, and about the previous chapter, Naru was a PK user, yes, but in my story he's a special one because he had all types of PK. He had ESP and PK, so why not make him more fantastic, eh?

This one's more angsty, but I assure you that I won't let Naru die. _Defribillator _is a life-saving device often used in cardiac arrest or in general case— heart failure. Nowadays, they use AED because it's automated and easy to use.

Read and Review folks!


	5. Chapter 5

FILE FIVE

"Gene." She buried her face against the medium's arm. "Tell me this isn't happening." She pleaded, her body shivering with fear.

The medium looked down at her bent head. "Don't worry. It's not his time, yet."

Those words again. Mai raised her head and stared at him.

"Do you trust me?" He said.

Mai nodded, her eyes closing tightly while her hand gripped the hand that was holding hers with enough force to give him the answer that he wanted to hear.

Gene tugged on her hand and led her to the bed where Naru was lying down. It took her several calming breaths before she could stop her legs from shaking. Meanwhile, the nurse placed a rectangular device on the bed. Then, he pulled the edges of the patient's hospital robe away from each other, revealing only the chest before he leaned down and applied CPR until the doctor arrived with an order to prepare the defibrillator.

"Now. Hold him." Gene said as they hovered near the end of the bed where they could clearly see Naru's face.

Mai was about to move her hands when Gene took hold of them instead and placed them against Naru's cheeks. He kept his hands firmly in place and with him standing behind her, Mai was caged between his arms. The situation was awfully macabre that it only slightly wrecked her nerves. Why do this have to happen at such time? Awkwardly, she looked down at the source of her discomfort. Gene's hands was soft and warm—

"Close your eyes." He said near her ear, making her jump in surprise but she obeyed his instruction nonetheless but with great difficult this time.

"Relax your breathing."

Mai followed almost absentmindedly. His voice so encouragingly gentle and whisper soft seemed to be hypnotizing her.

"Concentrate on his pulse."

Naru's pulse? Mai moved her fingers, the need to clarify it overwhelmed her. Her fingertips instantly sought the point in his neck where his heartbeat was stronger. There it was, the pulsing pressure on his skin was very weak but it was enough to make her sob in relief.

"Now. You can open your eyes.."

Slowly, she lifted her heavy eyelids and noticed that they were no longer standing inside the hospital but rather in the middle of a grassy plain.

She looked around. There were many people around the place. But none had noticed their presence, in fact, they were so seriously enthralled by a point in the horizon that they didn't even blink an eye or move a muscle.

Suddenly ill at ease, Mai followed the direction of their gazes and saw a very steep bridge at the end of a cliff, going up and up until she couldn't see its end.

"Gene? Where.. exactly are we?" She looked at the medium and saw in his eyes an expression that she couldn't quite name.

_To be continued_

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**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

I love writing weird stuffs when the genre is angst so bear with it, please. And oh boy, some nurses had all the luck! Imagine, CPR with the big boss of SPR. Masako and Mai would have fought hands and nails for such opportunity. Hehe ;)

During Mai's meditation, the doctor was already using the defibrillator. In reality, it would have sent some shock into her because the electricity coming from the device would've flown in her body, but she's in a spiritual trance so it didn't actually affect her.

R & R


	6. Chapter 6

FILE 6

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"Gene, did you just say 'purgatory'? Mai said, stupefy, bewildered, shocked— or whatever what one would call to someone who just heard that her spirit was wandering in a place outside the the scope of the earth. What would Naru say if he's in this kind of situation? What kind of scientific approach could he have made in order to explain such phenomenon?

"Yes. Your people described it as the land of the waiting dead." Gene said.

"You mean _meido_?" Mai muttered. Based on Japanese mythology, Meido was a place where Enma Dai-O judged the souls. It was also the place where the spirits lingered before they received the final verdict.

"Wait." Mai raised her hand. "But all the spirits here have already moved on," She paused in disbelief, "And you said that it's not my time, yet.. isn't that illegal?" Mai swallowed nervously. She remembered Naru saying that only the spirits of the dead could access the information of afterlife.

"Actually, we're not the only one trespassing. There's one idiot scientist who managed to break into this realm without quite meaning to. And I brought you here because he needs you."

"Eh?" Mai blinked. "You mean, Naru? He's here?!"

Gene nodded.

"What do you mean _he didn't mean to_?" Mai said in irritation. Great, leave it to her high and mighty boss to pull a stunt like that.

"You could say that he performed an out of the body before his spirit could realize that he's not yet dead."

"That kind of phenomenon happens when a person undergoes a near-death experience. A spirit would always come back to its vessel after a short amount of time or longer. But in Oliver's case, it's quite different." Gene said with a solemnity that alarmed her.

"Different?" Mai said.

"My brother has ESP and PK— a rare talent even among psychics. His chi is also much stronger than that of an average person. Yet, his body cannot release a big amount of it. If he did, it could render him bodily damage or worse. Because of this, I forbade him to perform an _out of the body_ when I'm not around to counterbalance his chi."

"What will happen if Naru did an _out of the body_ on his own?"

"There's a great chance that he might not come back to his body for a longer period of time." Gene stated.

Mai clenched her hand into fist, remembering Naru's prone form at the hospital. It explained a lot why even a mere spoon bending made Lin so worried. And then at the Yuasa High School when they fell in the manhole, he used his power to remove the debris and then collapsed after they were rescued.

He didn't tell her because it would've revealed many things about him— things that he could not tell them at that time. But even so, he's still that way even after they discovered his secrets. It's not in his nature to ask for anyone's help..

Mai sighed. "When you said that he needs me, what did you exactly mean?"

"Well, it depends on how strong a medium you are."

"But, why me?" Mai pointed to herself. "You've contacted Masako before." Ugh. Her voice sounded more gruff than she intended. Well.. she crossed her arms and closed her eyes in deep thought. It's true that Masako was more accomplished medium than her and she could understand the spirits better than she did. It's also a known fact that she was more intelligent than her.

Mai pouted, her shoulders sagging in defeat. Excuses.

Gene smiled at the different expressions that crossed her face. _Because you're the one._

"Eh? Did you just say something?" Mai opened her eyes and frowned. But Gene only smiled at her.

"Well, then, shall we put your skills to the test?" His smile softened.

_To be continued._


End file.
